Pranzo: Sicilian(ish) Recipes & Stories

Pranzo is a celebration of Italian food and a Sicilian upbringing on the other side of the world – capturing the spirit of simplicity, fresh seasonal ingredients and sumptuous colours and flavours. Guy Mirabella masterfully weaves his recipes, images and stories around the themes of generosity, love, tradition, life and food – all the things that influence him in his cooking.

Fresh and seasonal dishes are prepared with love and respect for the ingredients. From Ruby Red Roasted Plums with Marsala and Vincotto to Eggs in Purgatory with Broccolini via clam soups, hazelnut cakes, sfingi, rabbit stew, Chicken Diavola and more – this is both rustic food to nourish and stir the soul but also beautiful food to linger over and share with loved ones. All of it presented in captivating style with an artist’s eye for everything that is vibrant, colourful and joyous about life.

Throughout the recipes, personal reflections on food, family, travels and Guy’s Sicilian heritage are complemented by stunning photography and design. A story of growing up at Cumbrae Farm on the Mornington Peninsula and of an ancestry that informed his attitudes to food and life, this is a book to explore and fall in love with. And to cook from, again and again.

About the Author

As one of Australia's most highly regarded book designers of the 1990s Guy Mirabella left his fingerprints everywhere, including on seminal cookbooks bearing the names of Stephanie Alexander, Christine Manfield and Charmaine Solomon. In 2002 Guy opened Shop Ate Café & Store in Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula, which he ran for 20 years before selling the business in December 2022.